Tragic Details About Lamar Odom

The following article reference addiction issues.

Oftentimes when we peek into the life of a celebrity, we notice all of the shiny and happy things in their world, whether it's material items or the adoration that person receives. But if you look longer, closer, and do a little digging, you may see the tall mounds of turmoil those celebs have dealt with.  

Let's take a look at Lamar Odom, who played in the NBA from 1999-2013. There's a good chance that many only paid attention to the glamorous lifestyle he had on "Khloé & Lamar," the reality show that he starred in with ex-wife Khloé Kardashian. Or perhaps some just thought about the former NBA player winning back-to-back championships with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 and 2010.

But long before any of those things, while Odom was growing up in Queens, New York, he suffered a major tragedy. Then he'd face plenty more tough times, with some of those moments being highly publicized and others underreported. So, we gathered and listed the tragedies that weren't covered extensively, starting from Odom's childhood. And trust us, there's a lot to unpack.

By the time Lamar Odom played basketball for Christ the King in Queen's New York as a teen, he was already considered one of the top high school players in the country. Clearly, that kind of fame for a young person could either boost their confidence or be an interference and in Odom's case, it seemed the latter occurred. As Bleacher Report noted, the sport became his top priority, and his grades evidently took a hit — which rendered him ineligible to play. As the outlet put it, "Basketball, long Odom's saving grace, had become his biggest distraction." He ended up going to three different high schools: Christ the King, Redemption Christian Academy, and St. Thomas Aquinas Prep. At one point, Odom was able to turn things around at one of the schools but he eventually got into trouble. 

"As a student, he was above average. Anything he was asked to do [he did it]. [He was] never a disciplinary problem," Pastor John Massey Jr., founder of Redemption Christian Academy, said in an interview with the Times Union. But evidently, the "handlers" in the future star's corner didn't sit right with Massey, and Odom was expelled in 1997.

In a 2020 interview with Graham Besinger, Odom said that he "just listened to the wrong people" when he was in high school.

Lamar Odom was accused of cheating on both his SAT and ACT, which ultimately cost him his scholarship to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. According to the Las Vegas Sun, the institution required at least a 21 on the ACT at the time, and at first, it seemed that Odom and his score of 22 were all good to go. However, as Sports Illustrated reported, UNLV revoked his scholarship "before he'd played a single game" after he refused to give the NCAA permission to look at his ACT. Odom was also accused of receiving nearly $6,000 from a UNLV men's basketball booster, which is a big no-no in collegiate sports. After his scholarship was yanked, he told Graham Besinger that he had to take a step back and "find out exactly who had my best interests."

After the UNLV fiasco ended, Odom landed at the University of Rhode Island and played for the Rams. "One of the best times of my life," he recalled to VladTV. But despite how much the ex-hooper said he enjoyed the school, he only played there for one season before heading to the NBA.

Lamar Odom has spoken more than once about the major role that his maternal grandmother Mildred Mercer played in his life. He also wrote about it on social media after his father Joe Odom criticized his marriage to former wife Khloé Kardashian. "He wasn't there 2 raise me. He was absent ALL of my life due to his own demons. My mother and grandmother raised me," Lamar tweeted (via Complex). After his mother passed when he was still a kid, his grandmother was his primary parental figure. In 2003, when  Lamar was 23 years old and just a few years into his NBA career, Mercer died.

Lamar remembers Mercer as being "always upbeat, a naturally happy person," telling Sports Illustrated in 2009, "I think I got that from her." Per the Los Angeles Times, Lamar honored his late mother and late grandmother by writing their names on his game shoes. He also paid tribute to Mercer with his jersey number.

"My grandmother, who raised me, was a big-time bingo player and playing the slots in Atlantic City. Seven is her lucky number,” he said, according to Fox Sports. "I'm a mentally strong dude. I've been suspended twice, my mother died, my grandma died as soon as I got to the [Miami] Heat. But there was one time where I thought I might mentally break down and really lose it."  

Sadly, Lamar Odom would continue to be plagued by death, addiction, and misfortune after his son Jayden's passing in 2006. In the summer of that year, he was robbed at gunpoint in his native Queens, New York, by a trigger-happy teenager. "When this kid put a gun to me and held it to my face and first he shot it, then pointed it at me, I thought he was going to harm me," Odom told the Los Angeles Times. "I was thinking, 'Help me brace for this bullet.' I'd never been in this kind of situation before."

In 2018, Odom ended up in another incident in Queens involving a gun. Per Page Six, when he and some friends got into an altercation with another group of people as they were leaving a Hooters at 12:30 a.m. According to TMZ, at one point, "a man from the other group pulled out a gun and fired multiple shots into the air." Thankfully, Odom wasn't hurt and neither was anyone else. "I want to let my fans know that I am OK," Odom wrote on Instagram following the incident (via Page Six). "Just to share the 'truth' here with you all. I was near the scene when it just happened and not involved in any way!"

If one were to call Lamar Odom's short stint as a member of the Dallas Mavericks "one big mess," it would be an accurate description. In 2011, ESPN reported that he asked the Los Angeles Lakers to trade him, which they did two days after his request. He signed to Dallas after that for a reported $8.9 million. At the time, Mavs owner Mark Cuban and his staff didn't seem to have sticker-shock due to the high price and thought the money was worth it. At least based on some comments that were made. Former head coach Rick Carlisle, for example, told ESPN that he had the "best forward trio" in the league since Odom would be playing with Shawn Marion and Dirk Nowitzki.

But after just 50 games, before the 2011-2012 NBA season even ended, Odom and the Mavs parted ways since the former forward showed little to no passion. He also gave subpar play, only averaging 6.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, and a little over one assist per game. Plus, Odom took 10 days off in the middle of the season, which probably didn't make anyone in the Mavs organization very happy. In fact, the team's reporter Dwain Price quoted Cuban as saying obtaining Odom "was by far the worst" personnel move he's ever made." Eventually, Odom was traded by the Mavs to the Los Angeles Clippers, which would be the last team he'd play for in the NBA.

Lamar Odom and Khloé Kardashian exchanged vows in September of 2009 in a Los Angeles ceremony in front of family, friends, and celebs. But just four years later, Kardashian filed for divorce, then put it off after Odom was put into the aforementioned medically induced coma. But by December 2016, the divorce was finalized with the reality star citing irreconcilable differences, per TMZ. Reportedly, Odom's substance use contributed heavily to the split, as well as his infidelity. 

"If there is one thing I regret when I was married, it was having multiple affairs with different women," he told Us Weekly in 2017. "That wasn't the stand-up thing to do." 

Ever since the divorce, Odom has made it known that he misses Kardashian and wishes he had another shot at their marriage, even opening up about his regrets on an early 2022 episode of "Celebrity Big Brother." "I miss her so much," he shared. "I wish I could take that time back." Kardashian also said she often thinks about her ex but believes it's best for them to be apart. "I like miss him all the time but not in a place like I want to get back with him," she said in a 2019 episode of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians." In another scene, she shared, "For him to say he's sorry publicly ... It felt good to finally feel like, 'Oh, thank god.' Just that my relationship was validated to me."

Family is family, and in the end, despite the rough times, that means a lot. Though their relationship had its fair share of difficulties, Lamar Odom only had loving words to say after his dad, Joe Odom, died on April 20, 2021. Following his father's passing, Lamar posted on Instagram, "These tears have been from joy and pain, as I embark on burying my father I ask that you extend good energy and kindness towards my family and myself."

The following month, Lamar shared a second post to honor his late father. "Life is not promised," he wrote. "My pops and I had our differences but at the end of the day I knew he loved me and I loved him and that's really all that matters." Elsewhere in his message, Lamar told his followers to settle any differences they may have with family members because "NOTHING is promised but death." The retired athlete didn't reveal his father's cause of death.

In the first Instagram post, Lamar encouraged his fans to always try to make space in their hearts for their nearest and dearest. "Understand that the most important and formative relationships you will ever have will be with family ❤️ Embrace it," he wrote. "Life is uncertain."